I attended a business networking lunch today. Part of my coaching business includes advising people on the colours (and styles) that suit them best; it’s an aspect of my job I love and it’s something I’ve been doing for nearly twenty years now. Dressed in violet, which is one of my best colours (I’m a Spring, for those of you who know about all this), I scanned the room to find some other colour amidst the sea of grey and black that constitutes so many business wardrobes in the UK. Spotting a woman in a coral jacket, I immediately went over to strike up a conversation. Coincidentally, we were seated on the same table for lunch and as we took our seats we were joined by another colourful character – a nattily-dressed architect in a bright yellow shirt! We got talking and discovered that we all felt strongly that people should express themselves a little more freely and that adding a touch of colour to a business wardrobe would add impact and make people stand out from the crowd. On the way home I continued to ponder the confidence that wearing the right colours can give you.

I remember when my ex husband first broke the news to me that he was planning to leave us. I remember that at a time when my heart was breaking and I felt like melting into a grey puddle of heartbreak on the floor, all my years of training kicked in and I made a special effort on each of those dark early days of single motherhood to wear my best colours, to put a bit of make-up on and to present myself to the world as an elegant and glamorous woman, not the drab and dishevelled victim. The funny thing is, my (ex) husband -distracted as he was with his impending new life-actually noticed and commented several times how attractive I was looking in that surreal period before he finally left. I wasn’t doing it for him. I was doing it as a way of making myself hold my head up high, of showing myself and the world that I was a woman of substance and to add some colour to a world that was then so dark and grey. I would urge all single mums to give themselves that gift.

My book, “THE SINGLE MUM’S SURVIVAL GUIDE – How To Pick Up The Pieces and Build a Happy New Life” is available to order now on Amazon and hits the shops on 1st July. For more details about my Colour Confidence Coaching, visit my website: http://www.thelifeyoudeserve.co.uk.